A COMMUNITY centre’s head has retired after 14 years battling the cost-of-living, recruitment and a “hideous” Ofsted report.

Jool Heller-Dixon, 68, said her final farewells to the Carroll Centre, as she looks forward to a more peaceful retirement after commuting each day from Brighton to Stanmore.

The former centre head said she would have stayed on for another 12 to 18 months if wasn’t for the “flawing” Ofsted report which rated the nursery inadequate despite staff only being three weeks into the job.

Jool said: “A combination of factors hit us all at once and we worked really hard to keep the nursery open during Covid but all the staff were burnt out and then we had to recruit like mad.

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Hampshire Chronicle:

“Ofsted came in at a time when we were just recovering and staff didn’t have time to embed. Snapshot inspections don’t work, they put staff under pressure and make them so stressed. It takes the joy out of working with children.

“The inspector’s whole demeanour was demoralising. The system is totally flawed and skewed to affluent areas.

“I’m now concerned that the manager and deputy I’m passing onto will leave - why should they work that hard to just get a slap in the face in return.”

Hampshire Chronicle:

Nationally Ofsted has come under fire after the suicide of a headteacher following the downgrading of her school after an inspection.

The retired community worker has handed over to Steve Maloney, who has been at the centre since Poppins Nursery opened there in 2014.

Regardless of her concerns for the staff ahead of the next Ofsted report, Jool said: “Steve is an excellent follow on choice. He’s grown up in the area and was a youth worker at the centre previously so knows all the families. It’s a constant struggle to find funding so the staff need to keep their fingers on the pulse to look for new initiatives.

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“We made a lot of changes while I was there the emphasis on helping families never changed. Opening the nursery was definitely a highlight at the time. Children in the community probably wouldn’t have accessed a nursery as soon as they did and got school ready if it wasn’t for us.

“My job was never dull and always interesting.”

Chair of the trustees, Barbara Guthrie, said: “It’s very sad that Jool has left. She really stepped up to the challenge of the cost of living crisis and has achieved a tremendous amount.

“She really changed some people’s lives dramatically and made quite the impact. Our biggest challenge is always funding and always will be but I have every confidence in Steve.”